DOTA 2 Fans have been hyping on the Manila Masters 2017 Finals from May 26 to 28, 2017. The three-day tournament was held in SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. The tournament was also broadcasted at Aksyon TV, the Manila Masters 2017’s official website and Twitch channel.

Stage Host Eri Neeman took over the stage, presenting the two finalists, Evil Geniuses (EG) and Newbee. Austin “Capitalist” Walsh served as the tournament’s Desk Host along with panelists David “Luminous” Zhang, Trent “TrentPax” MacKenzie and Jack “KBBQ” Chen. Shout Casters Ben “Merlini” Wu and Toby “TobiWan” Dawson provided in-game commentaries. The finals were set in Best of 5 format.

EG had an advantage with positioning, including top lane. Clockwerk and Puck’s range helped on positioning. On the other hand, Newbee started with dual offlane. EG started aggressively by getting Bounty runes, ganking and warding.

Despite being ineffective on ganking, Newbee stacked Ancients and neutral creeps while farming in the Radiant jungle.

Outworld Devourer showed impressive evasion through Astral Imprisonment. Drow Ranger did the heavy hitting and laning for EG with Shadow Blade. Puck was also ultra-effective on laning and initiating. Crystal Maiden was a great asset for EG due to her disabling and aura. Clockwork utilized Cog Barrels efficiently to single out enemies and shove off oppositions.

Nightstalker had little opportunity to fight back despite having potential in disabling. Tidehunter often failed to capitalize Ravage during tower defense, thus getting punished by EG.

EG won Game 1 in half hour as Outworld Devourer gets a triple kill, causing Newbee to concede with GG.

Game 2 showed that Newbee can assault Roshan easily. EG picked Phoenix, Puck, Nature’s Prophet, Windrunner and Lone Druid, while Newbee picked Sand King, Disruptor, Ursa, Naga Siren and Lina. The panelists commented that EG was vulnerable against Newbee. EG committed in “Rat Doto” tactics, avoiding clashes while pushing separately. The panelists observed that Newbee returned to their classic team lineup, similar to their match against OG.

Ursa carried Newbee by aggressively claiming Aegis every time Roshan respawned. This gave EG full disadvantage and bad positioning. Compared to the first match, Newbee was more proactive at ganking. There were instances where Newbee have missed opportunities. For example, EG barely escaped Naga Siren’s Song of the Siren and Sand King’s Epicenter combo. Despite committing mistakes, Newbee showed that they are great on singling out EG members.

Newbee started on ganking by killing Windrunner as first blood, eventually becoming a frequent victim of ganks. They were able to harass EG on early game, particularly Puck. The frequent death of Lone Druid’s Spirit Bear was very disastrous for EG.

Naga Siren was able to farm good items and utilize Song of the Siren effectively. On the other hand, Lina and Ursa’s attack speed was a good synergy. The Epicenter and Laguna Blade combo were devastating for EG.

After most of EG were wiped out in a clash, Puck escapes from Newbee’s team gank narrowly. A clash at the bottom followed up with several buybacks. EG repelled Newbee’s push at the bottom and finally defeating Ursa.

The lengthy Game 2 ends at the final clash and 3 from EG died, eventually they conceded. The panel lamented that EG should have started ganking earlier since EG decided to play slowly. Newbee capitalized on killing Roshan with the help of Ursa while controlling the top. winning the second game.

For Game 3, Evil Genius picked Puck, Warlock, Enchantress, Razor and Ember Spirit while Newbee picked Sand King, Rubick, Lifestealer, Batrider and Death Prophet. The panelists commented that EG’s team composition was push-oriented and very mobile while Newbee’s team was focused on killing Roshan while retaining initiation potential.

Razor was EG’s damage dealer despite leveling slowly. Enchantress maximized her creep control and farming. Warlock’s Chaotic Offering and Upheaval was EG’s key on ganks since the golem dealt heavy damage and slowed down Newbee whenever they pursue offense. Despite early harassment by Death Prophet at mid lane, Ember Spirit went offensive with great positioning, maximized Fire Shield for defense, and getting successful kills.

Newbee successfully pushed mid and killing heroes along the way, forcing EG to buyback from the dead. They also resumed killing Roshan while controlling the top.

One of Game 3’s highlight was Newbee pulling off a backdoor push but they were fully decimated by EG’s counterattack. Lifestealer tried to escape via Infest but he was pursued and killed. EG successfully repelled another clash at high grounds. After that, EG proceeded to kill Roshan and getting end game items.

The third match ended in a clash at the bottom as EG proceeded to wipe out Newbee. Game 3 was a spectacle because it showed constant ups and downs for both sides.

Game 4 started as midnight came closer. EG picked Crystal Maiden, Ember Spirit, Kunkka, Bristleback and Dark Seer. They changed their lineup by not picking Puck and opted for a Ghost Ship, Freezing Field and Vacuum plus Wall of Replica combo. Meanwhile, Newbee picked Disruptor, Clockwork, Ursa, Tidehunter and Outworld Devourer.

The early game started with evenly matched lanes.

Ember Sprit maximized his potential on DPS, disabling and survivability.

While a clash in mid resulted to Ursa’s defeat by Crystal Maiden and Ember Spirit, another clash in the top jungle happened as Kunkka survived despite hanging in 1 HP. His well-timed X Marks the Spot countered Disruptor’s Glimpse.

Newbee made some comeback during team ganks while capitalizing Tidehunter’s Ravage

Both teams went “Rat Doto” discreetly during the late game.

Despite Newbee having full control over Roshan, EG had mobility, initiation and dominance during clashes. They also took initiative on harassing Roshan.

EG tried killing Roshan but they got ganked from Newbee. After acquiring Refresher Orb, Tidehunter used Ravage twice. Both teams continued pursuing Roshan. Several buybacks happened but EG survived, eventually launching an onslaught at Newbee’s bottom barracks and finishing the tournament.

EG showed versatility, adaptability, tenacity and tactics till the end. They won the $125,000 Grand Prize, Trophies and Medals. The awarding was hosted by Mineski Infinity CEO Ronald “Rhom” Robins. EG has proven themselves as the best DotA 2 players in North America.

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